Becoming a New Family -- My Paternal Grandparents

Our pastor, Todd Schmidt, loaned us a book of wedding ceremony traditions and wording for us to think about our ceremony. We decided the opening statement should say, "Marriage is a relationship entered into thoughtfully, reverently, and with gratitude for the past and hope for the future. Today Brooke and Christopher leave the homes of their childhood and become a new family." I always thought of my family as my mother, father, brothers, and grandparents, but until I read those words did I realize that Chris was also going to be my family. So, I decided to honor the moments when our relatives decided to become new families by placing photographs of their wedding day by our guest book. Also, I decided to share the stories of our parents and grandparents on my blog to show my gratitude for the past. Today, I want to share the story of my paternal grandparents, Henry and Alice Jackson.

As recounted by my father:
In 1940, my Grandmother Alice and her sister Bernice rode a train from Wilston, North Dakota to Great Falls, Montana go shopping. After shopping, they grabbed a bit to eat a Goodman's Saloon where they met two gentlemen, Henry and Mike. My Grandmother Alice took a fancy to my Grandfather Henry, one thing lead to another and they were married in 1941. The photo above is not really from their wedding day, but is considered by my family to be their wedding picture. (Side Note: My grandmother's sister Bernice married Mike a few years later). They had six children: Lyle, my father Dale, Betty, Joyce, Bev, and Laurie. My grandfather (who looks exactly like my father) worked in the General Mills flour mill and my grandmother a homemaker. My grandfather passed away in 1983, a year after I was born, of lung cancer. My grandmother still lives in Great Falls in the house where my father grew-up, and now has twelve grandchildren (including myself) and nine great grandchildren.